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oh leah

The past year I have seen a ton of low exposure shots floating around the internet and I have really been wanting to give it a try. The other night Julianna and I bundled up and we went outside to a sky full of stars. The beauty of the earth doesn't stop to amaze me. Not going to lie it took a while for me to exactly understand how to take the pictures, but once I got it they turned out to look really pretty. There's a lot of peace that comes when you get outside and enjoy nature. I feel very humble and grateful to know that Heavenly Father created this amazing world for us. How could a creator not be out there when we have this big, beautiful wide world. These thoughts reminded me of one of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon that says " Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." -Alma 30:44

Last Friday I was able to hang out with this fun-loving friend of mine. A hangout isn't complete without a mini photoshoot, which didn't last long because it was sooo cold outside. I still haven't gotten my camera fixed, so all these pictures were taken with my Nikon D300 and 50mm 1.4 lens.

This girl is headed to Brazil! I can't believe it, in only a few short months Rebecca will be serving the people of Sao Paulo. I know she's going to the best missionary and be such a light to the people around her. (I mean she already is)

Hello amazing people of the internet. Yesterday I had the best time hanging out with Kendall and teaching her the works, when it comes to photography. It also helps a lot that her room is SO CUTE. This was my first time ever teaching someone about photography, I sometimes forget that terms like shutter speed, ISO, and Aperture aren't in everyone's vocabulary haha! Teaching someone else also made me realize that I have learned a few things, when it comes to taking photos. As you are scrolling I'll share some tips that I taught Kendall. The tips will be numbered, but this in no way correlates to significance. also DISCLAIMER!!! I am not a professional photographer at allll, I just really enjoy capturing moments, it's what I love and it's my passion. I use my blog to share all the things I love and photography is one of those. Any way I can share my love for photography with others i'll do it. The tips are just things that I have learned, over the years of me using a camera. ( I got my first DSLR in 2013) and things I do when I'm shooting. I hope you enjoy!!! If you have any questions about photography leave a comment, I would love to hear and get back to you. :)

Tip #1 I like light pictures. This isn't really a tip, but yeah... If there's a light take a picture. Want the lights to be blurry? Focus on something in the background and have the lights in the foreground.

Tip #2 fill the image: I love doing this! take the picture in a way that focuses just on what you are capturing.

Tip 3 50mm!!!
If you are taking a picture of a person keep your focal length at 50mm or above. doing this will ensure that your object doesn't look warped. it's not pretty when they are. I have made this mistake some many times. I am taking a picture of someone with my 24-70mm lens (a zoom lens) . I start shooing on 50mm. I am too close, and instead of taking a step back to get the photo I want; I zoom in! this is a problem, to keep the pictures looking as natural as possible Shoot at 50mm, you won't regret it.

Tip #3 everyone loves a good jumping picture

Tip #4 Crop and Adjust odds are you are never going to get the perfect rule of thirds pictures. It's okay to step back and get a picture from farther away, knowing that you can crop and straighten it in editing. If anyone wanted to know, I use Lightroom to edit almost all of my pictures. I even have the Lightroom app! I love it. Editing is one of my favorite things to do, it's like therapy for me. I'm pretty sure that's super weird to say.

feeties

kendall TIP # 6 experimenting. Number one tip! TRY DIFFERENT ANGLES AND HAVE FUN

Tip #7 START AT THE EYES. What makes a good picture? I think one of the most important things is angles. Knowing angles is key, you always want to make sure your object looks the best. My mom always says anyone can take a good picture of someone, and anyone can look bad in a picture" and I will add that at a good angle ANYONE can look good. A good rule of thumb for angles is meet the person at the their eyes and then bring you camera a little higher and tilt your camera down. This is what I always do for the pictures I take of other people. Like all rules. They are made to be broken! experiment with different angles, I just find that this method is very flattering for all people.

she met me at the eyes

Bangin'

Kendall's street gives me all the Stranger Things Vibes

Tip #8: get down low. If you want your subject to be sitting down. Meet them at their level! For this picture I really liked the newly paved rode and wanted to feature it. Kendall sat down and I met her on the floor and viola! I love this picture.

Tip #9 BECOME ONE WITH NATURE. like lights, if there's green get a picture with it or it in the background. The best thing about a 50mm is that it make the even the deadest tree look like creamy goodness.

Tip #10 ATTENTION TO DETAIL
There is not a bone in my body that is a perfectionist, but attention to detail is something I have had to try to gain when taking picture. If you are like me and am not a perfectionist next time you take a picture Tip# 11 TAKE YOUR TIME. Look at the picture after you take it. Is there hair covering their neck making it look like they have no neck? Ask them if they can move their hair, and take another picture. This may seem super random, but necks are big in pictures. Make sure the person has a neck, but not to much neck, don't be afraid to tell the person to put their chin down, people have a tendency to lift their chin when smiling, and it doesn't translate well in photos. In summation, take your time and be aware of what is missing and going wrong in the pictures, fix it if you can and take another picture .

Tip #13 take a lot of pictures

Especially if you are a beginner. The more pictures you take the more options you will have that there will be the perfect pictures, greater the odds of a super focused good expression face picture. Also shoot everyday. like everything practice make progress. I grew the most I ever had in photography last year. Why? because I literally just put myself out there and tried to take a picture everyday. In a perfect world, I would have photoshoots with people everyday and it would be amazing, but that doesn't happen. That's okay. I phones are amazing and you can do sooo much. Can't get to your DSLR. take a pic on your IPhone and call it good.

Bonus tip be confident: This isn't really a photography tip, but it's something that I try to tap into when taking pictures. Act like you know what you're doing and other people will think you know what you are doing, basically a life tip. Most of the time I don't know what I am doing, I just put myself out there. Things usually work out just fine. The more confident you are the less stressful taking pictures will be come. Don't stress and DON'T COMPARE. everyone has their own style, which develops and grows over time. Heck, I'm still trying to get my style down.

About Me

Hi and welcome to my blog. My name is Leah, I am 17 years old and I currently live in Niceville, Florida. I have always loved photography and the way you can capture moments through images. I hope to share some of my captured moments through this blog, and share everything that makes my heart happy.